The present invention relates generally to the field of computer and data networking, and more particularly, to techniques to more efficiently representing time stamp information for network processing.
Computer networking is one of the most important technologies in the information age. Personal computers are on the desks of most business people and majority of homes in the United States, and also becoming more commonplace throughout the world. Computers are instrumental for facilitating electronic commerce and internet traffic.
Integrated circuits are the building blocks of electronic devices and networks, including computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile and other telephony devices, digital cameras and video cameras, digital voice recorders, routers, switches, and network hubs. Some types of integrated circuit include microprocessors, memories, programmable logic devices (PLDs), and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). As integrated circuit technology improves, it becomes possible to put more and more functionality on a single integrated circuit.
Computers are typically connected using a network that allows the sharing or transfer of data between computers and devices. This data may include computer files, e-mail, images, audio, video, real-time data, and other types of information. For example, when their computers are joined in a network, people can share files and peripheral such as modems, printers, tape backup drives, or CD-ROM drives. When networks at multiple locations are connected, people can send e-mail, share links to the global internet, or conduct videoconferences in real time with other remote users. Local area network (LANs) are used to connect computers within businesses and homes. The internet is typically used to connect individual computers and other networks, including local area networks.
Each computer has a set of predefined network ports, which act as mailboxes for incoming and outgoing messages. The ports are typically configured to support a particular network protocol, and hence to receive or send a type of packet that is compatible with the protocol. For example, one common port is the UDP (user datagram protocol) port, which provides a channel into the computer for datagram packets that are communicated using TCP/IP (transport control protocol/internet protocol). Datagram packets are sent to a specific UDP port by using a programming interface, such as “sockets.” Sockets are a programming interface originated on Unix operating systems that allows network communication using a file I/O metaphor.
Despite the success of computer networks, there is a continuing need to improve networking technology, especially since network traffic continues to rapidly grow. For example, it is desirable to increase transmission speed and network processing speed. Further, time stamps are frequently used in the processing of network packets or other transmission of data. Time stamps are important because they are used in numerous aspects of network processing. For example, time stamps are used in implementing queues or other techniques to prioritize processing of data based on when the data is received. Time stamps are used to synchronize information between two different locations. As can be appreciated, time stamps are also used in many aspects of the processing of computer, binary, or network data.
As the bandwidth increases and the amount of network increases and the amount of data increases, the time stamps generally get larger, and thus require more bits to be represented. More bits means that more memory is required to store these time stamps. This will require more space on an integrated circuit or greater number of integrated circuits. Conserving memory is an important aspect in network processing because then more can be done within a single chip or fewer chips. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the amount of memory needed to store time stamp information.
As can be appreciated, there is a need for improvements in computer networking, especially for techniques to improve the handling time stamp information.